WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FOREIGN BANKS AND GOVERNMENTS IN DESPERATE ASSAULT ON US TAX LAW
Banks and foreign governments are mounting an increasingly desperate push against a sweeping US tax law that will force overseas institutions to report their American clients to the Internal Revenue Service. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was passed by Congress last year and comes into force in 2013.
BANKS TO CUT TREASURIES USE
Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks are preparing to cut their use of US Treasuries in August as a precaution against any turbulence that could follow if warring Republicans and Democrats fail to increase soon the US debt ceiling, a senior bank chief said. One strategy, which bank executives only agreed to discuss without attribution due to the political sensitivities related to discussing Treasury debt, is to have more cash on hand to put up as collateral against derivatives and other transactions, decreasing the financial system’s reliance on Treasuries.
PERMIRA SHIES AWAY FROM BIG BUY-OUTS
Permira is launching a €6.5bn buy-out fund that will be a third smaller than its previous one, highlighting how some of the world’s largest private equity groups have scaled back their ambitions in the wake of the financial crisis. The group unveiled plans at its annual investor meeting.
GOLDMAN AND CLIVE CAPITAL IN INDEX MOVE
Goldman Sachs, the bank that popularised commodities investing among pension funds and other conservative money managers, is to launch a commodities index in conjunction with Clive Capital, the largest commodities hedge fund.
THE TIMES
EXPANDING BRIGHTHOUSE CREATES 2,000 JOBS
BrightHouse is to create 2,000 jobs over the next five years after accelerating its store opening programme. Britain’s biggest rent-to-buy retailer, owned by the private equity company Vision Capital, is stepping up its planned store openings from 21 to 30 a year. Additional jobs are expected to come from opening new distribution centres.
WESTFIELD STRIKES WITH “BOUTIQUE BOWLING”
The company behind the trendy “boutique bowling” concept, in which ten-pin bowling is glammed up with cocktails, fine cuisine and loud music, is expanding beyond Central London. Westfield has signed a long-term lease with All Star Lanes to open a bowling alley when the Australian developer’s Stratford City centre opens.
The Daily Telegraph
DUBAI’S FINANCIAL CRISIS LAID BARE AS 217 NEW PROPERTIES AXED
The extent of Dubai’s financial crisis has been laid bare after the Arab state revealed that 217 property transactions were axed or put on hold in the wake of the troubles hitting the country. The revelations came as Dubai laid out plans for a bond issue, in part designed to restore its finances in the wake of the crisis. The bond documents showed that the country’s real estate watchdog cancelled the registered real estate projects over the past two years after the bursting of the property bubble.
IMF HIT BY MAJOR CYBER ATTACK
The International Monetary Fund, which manages global financial crises, has been the target of a major cyber attack by hackers seeking access to confidential information about economies across the world.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
RIVALS TO LINE UP FOR NORTEL PATENTS
Companies trying to unseat Google from the lead position in the bidding on Nortel’s patent portfolio have until this afternoon to take a shot at it. The list of contenders likely will include Microsoft, Apple and Research in Motion, and perhaps Telefon AB LM Ericsson of Sweden, Intel and China’s ZTE.
CHEVRON LEAVES ROSNEFT PROJECT
US oil major Chevron is quitting a $1bn project in Russia’s Black Sea, in a fresh setback for Rosneft’s efforts to increase its international profile by forming partnerships with foreign oil companies. Chevron’s move comes shortly after BP and Rosneft pulled the plug on a much-vaunted Arctic alliance that foundered on opposition from BP’s partners in its existing Russian joint venture, TNK-BP Ltd.